John Keells Consumer Food sector shines at the 53rd Annual Report Awards

Market leader in the processed meat industry Keells Food Products PLC recently won the Gold award in the Food and Beverages category at the 53rd Annual Report Awards competition, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), whilst Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, the market leader in carbonated soft drinks and ice creams, won the Silver award. It is noteworthy that since 2007, one of these two listed companies has always won the Gold Award for Annual Reporting in the Food and Beverages category. 

The Annual Report Awards competition of CA Sri Lanka is the most esteemed competition for annual reports in the country. The event has helped to enhance financial reporting standards in Sri Lanka, keeping them in line with globally acceptable benchmarks. 

Having started its operations in 1983, Keells Food Products takes pride in being solely responsible for developing the Sri Lankan processed meats industry to its current heights. Keells has spearheaded progress in the industry, through strategic investments in state-of-the-art food processing technology, quality control systems and company-wide R&D orientation. 

Ceylon Cold Stores, trading under the brand name of ‘Elephant House’ is one of the oldest companies in Sri Lanka, having commenced operations over 150 years ago. Its carbonated soft drinks range has over the years successfully competed with brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi, which are in the top 50 brands in the world. Elephant House is the market leader in the local ice cream market. Venturing beyond the local market, CCS began its Maldivian operation in 2001 and has captured over half of the ice cream market in the archipelago, outperforming leading multinational rivals.

Keells Food Products and Ceylon Cold Stores are part of the Consumer Food sector of John Keells Group, and have raised the bar in the processed foods industry, not only with their exceptional business practices but also their compliance with accounting standards and good governance.

John Keells Executive Vice President and CFO (Consumer Foods and Retail Sector) Sanjeewa Jayaweera said: “We are proud to be recognised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka for our excellence in annual reporting. The fact that one of the two companies in the consumer food sector of the John Keells Group has now won the gold award for the last 11 years is an exceptional achievement and a reflection of how our committed team works throughout the year to make sure that our reports are always transparent, clear, cohesive, compliant and timely. These awards are a true reflection of our good governance practices, ethical business operations, and assurance to our stakeholders.”

Both Keells Food Products and Ceylon Cold Stores are among the top listed companies to produce their annual reports early on in the financial year, and as such they were able to conduct their Annual General Meetings earlier than most companies in Sri Lanka. Releasing annual reports earlier also means that shareholders and other stakeholders have plenty of time to go through the reports and participate fully at the AGM meetings.

According to Jayaweera, both organisations’ financial reporting policies reflect globally recognised reporting practices. One such example is their practice of finalising monthly accounts by the first working day of the next month – a world best practice. This practice was adopted in 2014 and resulted in the team being awarded the John Keells Group Chairman’s award for excellence in 2015. He further stated that the awards they have won over the past decade is a result of several years of good business practices, utilisation of automated processes and an overall commitment by the entire organisation from production to procurement to follow systems and processes set in place to maximise organisational efficiency.

This year’s 53rdAnnual Report Awards revolved around the theme ‘Quintessence of Eminence’ and recognised annual reports which carried core elements of transparency, good governance, and social responsibility while going beyond the statutory boundaries of reporting.